Human Instinct
by Ratchen
Summary: Sojin (OC), Hide's roommate, ends up getting swept up in the world of ghouls when he accidentally stumbles upon Touka discussing Kaneki's fate. Narrowly escaping with his life, he must find out where he fits in among the puzzle of ghouls v. humans and who is friend and foe.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm going to visit Kaneki at the hospital!" came Hide's peppy voice from the living room. Sojin's pencil paused in the middle of a word as he looked up from his homework. The boy's brown bangs fell lightly across his forehead and his soft lips dropped into a slight frown. Rubbing the eraser lightly on his eyebrow, he made a pouty face, aware that Hide could not see his reaction from the living room.

"Okay, tell him I say hi," the younger boy replied, looking back down at his homework. To an outsider, it might appear that Sojin disliked Kaneki due to his less-than-excited reaction every time Hide uttered the name. This was far from the truth. Though he would never say it, Sojin had a crush on his orange-haired roommate, which led to an irrational jealousy of his crush's best friend. Sojin truly liked Kaneki as a person and the two often hung out—even without Hide. Still, the brown haired boy couldn't hide his jealousy at being Hide's number two. While Kaneki had grown up with Hide and developed a close bond, Sojin had just moved into the apartment a few months ago. The boy let out a sigh and placed his pencil on the table, turning to look out the window at the dreary gray landscape of Tokyo as he heard the door to the apartment open and close. Normally, the city was bustling with people and full of neon lights, yet a thick layer of clouds had settled over the capital today. Sojin enjoyed his life in Tokyo, even though he had had no say in his relocation to the metropolis.

Prior to Tokyo, the boy had lived a quiet life in the Japanese countryside. While far from a farmboy, the electric landscape of the big city was taking a while to adjust to. His parents had sent the twenty-year-old to the city in the hopes of acquiring a better education than he could in his own town. While he had initially protested, well aware of the worsening ghoul situation in Tokyo, he eventually gave in and set his sights on making his parents proud. After searching for a place to stay, he had stumbled upon an open room in a small apartment with Hide and ended up living with the slightly older boy. To Sojin, Hide was more than a roommate. The happy-go-lucky boy watched over him and acted as a protector in the harsh city, keeping him safe from swindlers and ghouls alike. It was this caring personality that had caused Sojin's attraction to grow and eventually develop into a full out crush.

Still, protective as he was, Hide spent much of his time out of the apartment with Kaneki. Sojin tried not to hold this against him, especially since Kaneki had recently been sent to the hospital and still seemed to be recovering. While the twenty-year-old had yet to hear the details of what had injured his friend, he understood that Kaneki needed Hide by his side. Hide also seemed to be in lower spirits due to the accident, probably due to Kaneki's lack of answers to his phone calls. Sojin shook his head, pulling himself up to a standing position and scanning the room for his cell phone. He snatched it off the table, slipped on his shoes, and exited out the door Hide had left from moments before. His roommate was probably going to visit his bedridden friend at the hospital yet again, so Sojin would find a way to entertain himself in the meantime.

Stopping on the street below the apartment, he looked left and right trying to think of a place to go. He would visit Kaneki again, but he had already visited the day before and didn't want to creep the boy out. The thought of his friend sparked an idea, reminding Sojin of the quaint coffee shop that Hide and Kaneki frequented. The boys had taken him a few times before, but it would be nice to visit alone for once and get some reading done. Nodding his head happily, the boy set out for the shop, humming a tune quietly.

The ghoul situation in this ward was far less severe than those of the neighboring areas—not to mention attacks rarely happened in the day—allowing Sojin to arrive at the shop unscathed. The brown-haired boy entered the shop, bowing slightly to the girl behind the counter. Sojin had visited the shop enough times to remember the worker's distinct purple hair and rather scary gaze. The girl seemed to have acknowledged his greeting, bowing slightly in return before turning around to wash dishes that seemed to already be clean. The boy shrugged and took a seat at a booth near the window, pulling out a book and beginning to read. An hour passed peacefully before the boy felt the coffee he had ordered hit his bladder. Unable to squirm uncomfortably any longer, he carefully placed his book on the table and searched for the bathroom. He glanced at the spot where the purple-haired girl had once stood, but she had vanished from the post. In fact, he couldn't find any staff members in the front of the cafe.

Deciding he would have to find it himself, the boy headed towards a door leading to the back of the restaurant and quietly slipped through. He continued down the narrow hallway which contained a surprising amount of doors leading to other rooms. Sojin perked up upon hearing a familiar name mentioned in a hushed voice behind one of the doors.

"That Kaneki kid…he was with Rize when she died," the voice whispered. Sojin's eyes widened, surprised that Kaneki would be mentioned randomly at the coffee shop. Perhaps he could get some details of Kaneki's accident for Hide! Inching closer to the door, he placed his ear against it, listening intently.

"He was. Judging by the reports I've received from our sources around the hospital, they transferred her organs into the boy," came the voice of an elderly man. Sojin felt his heart rate increase. He hadn't realized that the accident had been so bad that Kaneki had needed organ transplants. His thoughts were interrupted as the conversation continued.

"What?! How could the organs of a ghoul be transferred into a human?" came the female's voice, quite loudly this time and accompanied by a thump that Sojin could only assume was her fist hitting the table.

"Touka! Be quiet. Do you want everyone to know we house ghouls here?" came the elderly man's voice. Sojin let out an audible gasp at this last bit of information. Ghouls? Here? He took a step away from the door, realizing the danger of the establishment he now stood in. Unfortunately, his gasp had been a bit too loud. The door smashed to pieces in a whirlwind of wood and dust as he felt a hand wrap around his neck and slam him into the wall, slowly increasing the strength of its grip. Sojin cracked his eyes open to find a pair of black and red ones peering straight back into his. Unable to scream due to the pressure around his neck, he scraped at the hand of the purple-haired girl in a desperate attempt to free himself.

"Eavesdropping were you? You're with the CCG! You chose the wrong place to spy, kid," she stated. Sojin's mind raced as the air rapidly left his body. He would have to choose his last words carefully.

"I'm…not CCG!" he exclaimed, barely able to get the words out of his constricted windpipe. The girl looked unconvinced. A desperate idea flashed through the boy's mind as he felt his consciousness begin to slip away.

"I-I'm a…ghoul!" Sojin managed to whisper. The girl let out a scoff, squeezing the boy's neck even harder. Sojin shut his eyes again as he felt as if the girl's fingers were about to rip through his very flesh.

"Touka," came the elderly voice once more. Suddenly, the pressure around his neck disappeared, allowing air to pour into his deprived lungs. Sojin fell to the ground coughing and gasping for air, his neck stinging from the girl's grip.

"He may be telling the truth you know," said the voice, as its owner entered the hallway, placing his hand on the purple-haired girl's shoulder.

"Tch. He's a human if I've ever seen one. Even if he's not with the CCG, he knows too much now," she shot back, removing the grip from her shoulder.

Sojin's mind raced through all of the ghoul documentaries Hide had made him watch at their apartment.

"I am a ghoul! I'm just weak! I can't enter ghoul state at will….I came here for protection!" the boy replied, rubbing his neck and gazing up at Touka. To his surprise, the girl simply scoffed and walked back down the hallway towards the shop.

"A ghoul knows the smell of human flesh, kid. Nice try, though," she said as she pushed through the door.

Sojin looked back at the old man, expecting him to enter ghoul form and finish him off. The old man simply smiled and pointed towards the window.

"It seems Touka is feeling merciful today. I would use that as your exit," he stated. Sojin scrambled to his feet and rushed towards the window, thrusting it open. Before he could jump, the old man spoke up once more.

"Ah, and I would refrain from mentioning anything you heard or experienced today. Touka is a very good hunter, I'm afraid," he stated. Sojin gritted his teeth, jumping onto the soft grass outside and making a break for his apartment, tears of fear welling in his eyes.

"No way…" he whispered in disbelief, not daring to look back.

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><p><em>Heheheh...I love TG ^^ Please leave feedback so I know how to improve! See you next chapter!<em>


	2. Chapter 2

Sweat poured down the boy's face as his hand finally made contact with the apartment door. Sojin had sprinted all the way home, not daring to risk getting ambushed by the purple-haired girl lest she actually follow through with her threat. Unlocking the door, he burst into the apartment, falling to his hands and knees and panting heavily. What was he going to tell Hide? Kaneki's best friend deserved to know about the transplant, yet the threat of Touka loomed over Sojin's head like a loaded gun.

"You went for a run in a collared shirt and jeans?" came Hide's voice as footsteps approached the spot where Sojin sat panting, breaking his train of thought. The younger boy immediately stifled his breathing and looked up at his roommate, pushing the brown bangs out of his eyes and smoothing out his clothing.

"I…yes? I forgot I had to send an important e-mail so I ran back!" Sojin exclaimed, avoiding the orange-haired boy's eyes. He was a bad liar and he could feel that Hide already knew something was awry. A memory of the first time he and Kaneki had hung out without Hide flitted across his mind. He remembered eagerly questioning Kaneki about his best friend's personality, trying to obtain tips on how to win Hide over. While Kaneki's information had indeed helped Sojin get closer to Hide, the fact that Sojin remembered most distinctly was Hide's aptitude for knowing when something was amiss while still feigning ignorance. Over the past few months, Sojin had already experienced Hide's keen eye a multitude of times—he even suspected that Hide knew about his crush. Still, the secrecy of his crush paled in comparison to the matter at hand.

Trying to escape the situation, the younger boy rose back to his feet and rushed past his roommate, still avoiding meeting eyes. He reached the door to his room and whisked it open before stepping inside.

"I'm going to send that e-mail now!" he exclaimed, slamming it hurriedly behind him before sinking to the floor. He heard Hide let out a sigh from the other side of the wood, but the older boy refrained from pushing the matter, simply walking away.

Rubbing his forehead, the stressed boy tried to think of a plan that would not end up hurting anyone. Hide didn't necessarily have to know, but Sojin wondered if even Kaneki knew that the organs he now relied on were those of a deceased ghoul. Judging from the commotion that news would create, Sojin highly doubted the surgeon had informed Kaneki of the details of his surgery. Sojin clenched his fist. Kaneki deserved to know…and how would Touka ever find out if he told his friend or not? From the documentaries he had watched, he had never heard of ghouls having superb hearing skills. Nodding to himself, he made his decision and rose to his feet. He would alert Kaneki to his condition, make him promise to keep it a secret, and be done with the matter. As a friend it was the least he could do, and he doubted Kaneki would spill the secret and risk getting ousted from society.

Sojin cracked his door open and scanned the quiet apartment for signs of Hide. Either his roommate was in his room or had gone out, but both options allowed Sojin an easy escape. He quietly crept out of the front door, slipped on his shoes and headed out to the street below. Rather than running, this time, he hailed a cab and anxiously waited for it to take him to the hospital. After fifteen minutes, the large hospital came into sight and the boy signaled for the cab to stop. He handed the driver money and hopped out, bowing slightly in thanks. Moments later he had arrived at the front desk where a friendly woman waited, offering to give directions to guests.

"I'm here to see Kaneki Ken," Sojin stated, tapping his finger on the desk impatiently. The woman's eyes widened for a moment, yet Sojin ignored it, annoyed by the hospital's visiting process. He already knew where the room was and didn't understand the point of this formality.

"Kaneki Ken…? On what business?" she asked, looking through a number of files.

"Oh, he's just a friend! I wanted to see how he's doing…" he replied, placing his hand atop his head.

"Hm, it seems that he's already been discharged to our external facility. He's doing better so he should just be resting there before heading home in a few days."

Sojin's eyes looked from the woman to the files in her hand in surprise. Kaneki had already been discharged? Why hadn't Hide told him the news?

"Really? Oh…th-thank you!" he stammered, embarrassed that he didn't know his friend had already left the hospital. He turned to leave, but the woman spoke up again.

"If you want to visit him, he should be at this address now! It's not too far so you should be able to walk there," she exclaimed, writing the information on a small piece of paper before handing it to him. Sojin turned back around and smiled at the woman's kindness.

"Thank you!" he exclaimed, bowing and taking the piece of paper. The woman bowed back before returning to her work. Sojin glanced at the piece of paper, putting the address into his phone's GPS and exiting the hospital. He squinted at his phone in confusion as it stated the estimated travel time would be half an hour. That woman had a far different definition of "not too far" than Sojin did. Shrugging, he followed his phone's directions, intent on delivering the information to Kaneki.

With every passing minute, the cityscape turned more and more rundown with dilapidated buildings and construction sites overtaking the scenery. After walking for quite some time, he realized it had been a good ten minutes since he had seen anyone. The people-less landscape allowed an eerie silence to fill the air, save for his own footsteps. The voice in Sojin's head told him to stop heading to the destination, yet his heart told him he had no reason to distrust the hospital worker. He had already come this far so it seemed more perilous to turn all the way around at this point. Still, this was a very strange area for a rehabilitation center to be placed…

"Your destination will be on your right in approximately two minutes!" his phone exclaimed, causing the boy to jump in surprise and almost drop the device. Letting out a sigh, he exited the navigation program and placed the phone back into his pocket, focusing his sights on his surroundings. Glancing at the next block over through a gap in the buildings, he momentarily caught site of two figures walking parallel to him before the building obstructed his view again. His heartbeat immediately increased as he picked up his pace. While he would normally be relieved to see the presence of other people in a place like this, his current situation increased his suspicions.

Sojin let out a sigh of relief as his destination finally came into view. The sun had all but set and the last place he wanted to be was outside in this area at night. The building was slightly nicer than those surrounding it, yet it still looked nothing like a rehabilitation center. Not wanting to stay outside any longer, the boy rushed in, his heart rate returning to normal as he saw a front desk and the back of a staff member's head.

"Ah, hello! I'm here to visit a—" The boy's sentence was cut short as his eyes widened in shock. The woman had turned around to face him, revealing the same face he had seen at the hospital just moments before. A silence fell between the two as Sojin tried to figure out what was happening. The woman's brown hair fell neatly to her shoulders and an expectant smile graced her face.

"Touka told me to expect you, boy," she said, her smile starting to fade. Sojin felt his stomach drop in horror at the mention of the purple-haired girl.

"Ah, you should've just stayed away. Touka was being so generous to let you go…" stated the woman, shaking her head slowly. The smile on her face had all but disappeared at this point and her eyes focused on him, unmoving.

Not bothering to respond, Sojin turned on his heel and burst out the door, running full speed from the building and into the night. He only managed to get a few feet away before a strong force tackled him to the ground, sending him rolling across the gravel and scraping up his hands and knees. Before he could get up, the hospital woman had pinned him on his back, straddling him and bringing her face closer. The street was too dark to make out anything other than her black and red eyes, the memory of Touka's still fresh in his mind.

"Unlucky. My friends have told me I'm not nearly as generous as Touka," the woman said, her lips twitching into a smile.

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><p><em>Heheh, sorry for the cliffhanger! Please review! ^^<em>


	3. Chapter 3

Sojin had always been fairly lucky. He had received the chance to move to the big city, met an amazing roommate, and generally avoided any life-threatening situations. Unfortunately, it seemed as if he had finally used up the last of this luck as the ghoul's figure loomed over him, her nails digging into the skin on his arms. How had he fallen for this? The woman had just seemed so normal...nice even! He had always been under the impression that ghouls acted abnormally or at least had clues that gave away their true identity. Now, he could see that humans and ghouls truly were very similar-perhaps the reason why the transplant on Kaneki had ended successfully. The one difference was that humans were weak, a fact that was becoming more and more apparent as the woman increased the pressure on his arms. Sojin let out a scream of pain as the strength of the grasp increased to the point that he felt his bones would snap.

Suddenly, the pressure on his arms disappeared with the woman shifting her grip to his shoulders and bringing her face close to his. She inhaled deeply, tracing down his jawline and neck before laughing and licking her lips. He thought scenes like this only happened in movies, yet the ghoul before him was more than real.

"Mmm, you smell delicious, but you're nothing more than than skin and bones. How unappetizing...though I suppose you'll have to do," she said before opening her mouth abnormally wide and moving towards his shoulder, saliva pooling around her tongue. Out of instinct, the boy shoved his palm into the woman's face with all his strength, barely managing to deflect the attack away from his neck. The woman let out a slight grunt, seemingly more annoyed than hurt by the blow, before narrowing her eyes at the boy.

"Brat...didn't your parents ever teach you not to hit girls?" she asked, shaking her head slightly as her brown hair fell into Sojin's face. "I was going to make it painless for you, but I guess you'd prefer some fun."

The woman's face twitched eerily before large orange tentacles erupted from her back, seemingly covered in mucus. The sight of the metamorphosis made Sojin want to puke, partially from fear, partially from disgust. Before he could even struggle, one of the tentacles was at his throat, lightly poking the area around his jugular. Not daring to struggle, the boy simply closed his eyes tight, hoping this nightmare would just end. What had he done to deserve being dragged into this? He had just wanted to find a bathroom earlier in the day and now he was at death's doorstep. A shooting pain suddenly plagued his left arm, causing him to yelp in pain and open his eyes back up. He gasped in shock as he saw that his arm has been gashed open all the way down the forearm, which was now pouring blood, as one of the woman's tentacles lingered above the wound. The ghoul took a deep breath, a genuine smile crossing her face.

"Ah, delicious," she stated. She truly was playing with him at this point and the torture was taking its toll on the boy. The sight of blood normally left Sojin feeling queezy, but seeing it pour from his own arm made him want to puke. The pain from his arm felt like someone had set fire to it and he was sure that if the woman didn't do him in, he would eventually perish from blood loss. However, it didn't seem that he had that much time as the woman stated that she was growing bored, raising a tentacle high above her head and letting out a snicker. The brown-haired boy squirmed, trying desperately to free himself from the woman's pin to no avail. Submitting to his fate, he closed his eyes once more, hoping it would be quick.

A loud clang filled the air as he felt the woman's body leave his. Sojin opened his eyes, surprised to see that the woman was no longer above him. Rolling his head to the left, he saw her picking herself up from the ground, a look of sheer anger on her face. He looked the other way to see two figures, one with a strange weapon in his hands. Squinting, Sojin could see that the armed newcomer was an older man, his hair completely white and falling in his face where a crazed smile rested. The other man was extremely tall and quite buff, dressed neatly in a suit while holding a silver briefcase. If it had been any other circumstance, the twenty-year-old would have been awestruck by the man's handsome features, yet he had slightly bigger issues to focus on at the moment.

"Amon, get the boy. I'll take care of the ghoul," the older man commanded, brandishing his weapon. Amon nodded, rushing towards Sojin and scooping him off the ground, before throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Sojin let out a gasp of pain from having his arm moved, but did his best to avoid getting any blood on the man's suit. As his savior moved him away from the battle, Sojin watched in awe as the old man dueled the ghoul, his weapon putting up an impressive fight against the woman's tentacles. In fact, the weapon the man wielded had a disturbing resemblance to the anatomy of ghouls. Just as the older man seemed to be getting an upper hand, Sojin's view was obscured as Amon placed him gently on the ground behind a building.

"You're one lucky kid," he stated, fiddling with his briefcase. "If she hadn't been so arrogant to just play with you like that, I don't think we would have made it in time."

The man's briefcase suddenly transformed into a huge hammer-like weapon, which he swung around a few times, seemingly for practice. He looked down at the injured boy, opening his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the voice of the old man.

"Incoming!" came the old man's voice from a distance, followed by a wild cackle. Moments later, the ghoul emerged from around the corner of the building, dashing full speed at the pair with an intent to kill. Her tentacles flailed wildly, lashing out at Amon as soon as they were within reach. To Sojin's surprise, the man managed to deflect the blows and even land a counter attack with his hammer, sending the woman flying backwards. The twenty year old attempted to scoot away from the action, putting a little distance between himself and Amon. He couldn't get very far before the pain in his arm intensified. Remembering his wound, he quickly ripped the sleeve off of his shirt, tying it around his forearm in an attempt to contain the bleeding.

"I'll _have_ my meal!" came the woman's voice as Sojin looked up from his arm to see the ghoul dashing around Amon and straight for him. Too shocked to make a sound, he once again scooted away from the woman in a futile effort. However, just as she entered attacking range, a sharp blade appeared out of the night and slashed a huge gash into the ghoul's side, spraying her blood across Sojin's clothes. The ghoul fell before him, landing face first on the gravel and twitching slightly, her tentacles falling limply by her side. The boy simply sat, too stunned to move or speak. Suddenly, the woman reanimated, her tentacles shooting into the air as her face snapped up and locked crazed eyes with him.

"Damn you, child!" she exclaimed, making one last effort to destroy the boy. Before her tentacles could make a move, her head smashed into the ground under Amon's heavy hammer, her body going limp this time. Sojin let out a gasp of horror before rising to his feet and distancing himself from the scene. He glimpsed blood dripping off the older man's blade-like weapon, guessing it had dealt the critical blow that had saved him at first. A shudder ran down his spine, staring at the corpse before him. Human or ghoul, Sojin wasn't one to support death-hell, he had never even seen a corpse before-and the scene left him feeling faint.

"You okay?" came the younger man's voice, bringing Sojin back to his senses. The brown-haired boy nodded, placing his hand over his forearm unconsciously and taking a closer look at the two men.

"I...you...thank you," was all he could manage to get out, still traumatized by the whole situation. The younger man placed his hand on Sojin's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze, before looking at the white-haired man who gave him a slight nod.

"I'm Mado and this is Amon...although you seem a little too shocked to register any of this," the white-haired man stated, letting out a quiet cackle. Sojin looked from the younger man to the older, their eyes meeting. Even though Mado had saved him, something about the crazed look in the man's stare gave Sojin the creeps. Rather than mess around with these guys, his first priority now was to return to Hide as quickly as possible-and hopefully in one piece.

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><p><em>Phew...that was an intense chapter. Thanks for the follows and faves! ^^<em>


	4. Chapter 4

Sojin bowed deeply first to Mado, then to Amon. Although he felt uneasy about the newcomers, they had saved him from his assailant so the least he could do was show his appreciation.

"Thank you very much! I would have been a goner if you hadn't showed up," he stated, glancing from the older man to the younger. "It's really late though, so I'd best be on my way now -"

The boy winced in pain as the gash on his arm throbbed, yet tried to conceal the wound behind his hand. The clothe that had once been a light blue was now dyed a deep red, his blood continuously seeping into the material. Amon glanced at the wound before taking a step closer to the boy and reaching for his arm. Sojin immediately took a step back, keeping the distance between him and the two men.

"That wound looks bad," Amon stated, unfazed by the boy's obvious fear of him. "You should at least let me take a look at it before you run off."

Sojin let out a nervous laugh before shaking his head and waving his hands in front of him.

"No, no! Thanks for your concern, but it's not that bad...I'm just going to head home now!" he stated, backing away from the men. Amon gave him a quizzical look, seemingly confused by the boy's reaction to his offer of help. The wound was obviously far worse than the kid was letting on. The man shrugged, not one to force assistance on those that did not want it. Sojin bowed once more before turning on his heel and speed walking down the street the way he came. The older man who had remained silent up till this point narrowed his eyes at the boy's fading figure before turning to his subordinate.

"That's certainly an interesting one, don't you think, Amon?"

After a few minutes of walking Sojin finally reached a street with a few cars passing back and forth. The pain in his arm was intensifying and he was beginning to feel exhausted from the lack of blood in his body. His eyes lit up as he saw the bright sign of a taxi heading his way, raising his uninjured arm to hail it. The cab pulled over and allowed the boy to hop in, the cab driver choosing to ignore the boy's injured state. The brown-haired boy gave his address and leaned his head against the window, closing his eyes and running through the whole day again in his head. He had always craved adventure, constantly complaining about his boring life, yet he hadn't expected it to manifest itself this way. Without realizing, the boy drifted into a mixture of sleep and unconsciousness. It was well past midnight at this point and the combination of drowsiness and blood loss easily overtook his willpower.

"Sir. Sir..." the cab driver stated, peering in his mirror at the boy passed out against the window as they pulled up to the destination. "SIR."

Sojin jolted awake, banging his head on the window then rubbing it in pain. He quickly fished his wallet out of his pocket, handing a handful of cash to the driver and apologizing profusely. Stepping out of the cab, he faltered and nearly fell to the pavement, gaining another concerned glance from the cab driver. Sojin turned to the man with a smile, rubbing his head and laughing a bit.

"Ah, I'm fine! Sorry...I'm just tired!" he exclaimed, trying to offer an explanation for his behavior. The man gave him a confused look before rolling up the window and pulling off. Sojin turned and climbed the steps of the apartment building one at a time, counting them to keep himself conscious. After quite a bit of effort, he managed to reach his apartment, entering and falling to the floor while clutching his aching arm. Pulling the cloth off, he gasped at the sight, barely able to resist heaving all over the floor. It was far worse than he had thought now that he could see it clearly in the light. The wound was deep and scarlet blood stained the rest of his arm. There was no way he would be able to patch this up himself, yet he had no strength left to get himself to the hospital. Not to mention, the last place he wanted to go right now was back to the hospital-for all he knew, all the workers there could be ghouls waiting to feast on him. His attention was ripped from the wound as a light turned on in the room next to the entryway. Hide's figure appeared in the doorway, his expression turning to one of horror as he saw the younger boy on the ground. Sojin didn't even try to hide the wound like he normally would, knowing it was too late as the orange-haired boy ran towards him, kneeling down and grabbing his arm.

"Sojin! Are you okay? What the hell happened to you?!" the older boy exclaimed frantically. "You need to go to the hospital! I'm calling an ambulance!"

The older boy turned to get up, but Sojin grabbed his shirt with his uninjured arm. Hide turned to face him in surprise, curious about what could possibly be more important that getting help right now.

"No! Please don't call an ambulance! I don't want to go to the hospital!" the younger boy exclaimed, pushing himself to his knees.

"What do you mean you don't want to go?! It's not an option. I think you're already delirious from blood loss!"

"No, Hide! Please!" exclaimed the younger boy, moving his grip to the older boy's arm and shaking it in a pleading manner.

"Sojin, stop being ridiculous. Look at your arm! Do you really think you can avoid a hospital trip with a wound like that?" Hide shot back, prying himself from the grasp on his arm. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and began dialing, placing the phone to his ear.

"Hide! Please! You don't understand why I can't go!" Sojin exclaimed, tears finally beginning to well up in his eyes. As far as he was concerned, Hide was unknowingly sentencing him to death. His roommate's eyes widened upon seeing his usually happy roommate tear up, dropping the phone to his side and kneeling down beside him.

"You're serious? If you don't want me to call then you have to at least explain what happened," the orange-haired boy stated, slipping his phone back into his pocket and peering into his roommate's eyes.

Sojin bit his lip, glancing to the side as he decided what to do. If he told Hide what had happened, he risked dragging his unknowing roommate into the dangerous situation that now surrounded him. The older boy took hold of his injured arm, taking a closer look at the wound before letting out a gasp.

"Did you get mugged? Although I don't think a knife could make a cut as precise as this..." Hide asked, mostly to himself. Sojin could tell that his roommate was already beginning to piece together the puzzle and would arrive at the answer regardless of whether he told him or not. Letting out a sigh, the brown-haired boy decided that it would be most beneficial to just come clean. With a look of fear, he retold the tale of what had just happened to him in his search for Kaneki.

"You what?! A ghoul? You survived a ghoul attack?" Hide exclaimed, grabbing Sojin's shoulders and shaking him slightly. "Why would you endanger yourself like that?"

"I didn't want to! I just wanted to help Kaneki. I thought he deserved to know!"

"You should have told me so I could have gone! How could you do something so dangerous alone?" Hide replied. Sojin's eyes widened a bit as he sensed a hint of anger in the older boy's voice.

"I didn't want to endanger you! I thought I could just tell him and be done with it. If the ghouls knew that you knew they would-"

"It doesn't matter!" Hide exclaimed loudly, through gritted teeth. He grabbed the younger boy's collar and pulled him closer, looking him in the eye. "Don't endanger yourself for me! Are you an idiot?"

Sojin felt his face flush at the last question. He pulled Hide's grip from his collar and pushed himself to his feet before turning for the door. The older boy immediately realized his error, jumping to his feet and grabbing Sojin's uninjured arm.

"Wait! I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that you shouldn't endanger yourself for me! I mean, look at your arm!" Hide exclaimed, trying to pull his roommate back. The younger boy gritted his teeth in annoyance and wrenched his arm free. Whether Hide was aware of his crush or not, he had expected the orange-haired boy to at least show some sign of gratefulness, not yell at him.

"Sorry for trying to protect my friends. Next time I'll let you get eaten by ghouls without a second thought," Sojin stated, edged on by a mixture of fatigue and annoyance. He made it out the door and to the top of the stairs before pausing in surprise.

"Sojin! I know you have a crush on me!" Hide exclaimed, following him out the door and standing behind his frozen roommate, aware that he had played his ultimate card. "It's because of that that I don't want you to go throwing your life away to protect me."

Sojin's heart rate increased, the remainder of the blood in his body now flowing rapidly through his veins. Should he pretend to not know what Hide was talking about? Should he make a break for it? Clenching his fists, he turned to face the older boy, taking a deep breathe. He tried his best to keep his face from turning red, but he could feel that it had already heated up.

"I...I don't have a crush on you! I'm just protecting you as a friend," he replied, his anger turning into humiliation and his gaze falling from Hide's eyes to the floor. His lying skills had failed him once again. To his surprise, he felt Hide's hand atop his head, patting it playfully.

"There, there. Don't worry, it's cute!" the older boy exclaimed, his happy personality returning as he moved closer and wrapped his arm around Sojin's shoulders playfully. Sojin buried his face in his hands in embarrassment, but was unable to refrain from a slight laugh at his roommate's drastic mood swing. He opened his mouth to question what Hide thought of him, but the older boy spoke first.

"That's the Sojin I know! Now...if you really don't want to go to the hospital, I have a senpai who's studying medicine. Let's head over to his place-and don't worry, he's not a ghoul!" Hide exclaimed, pulling his phone out of his pocket with his free hand and dialing a number.

"Ah, Nishiki senpai! Sorry to wake you, but my friend needs some emergency help! You can patch him up, right?" Hide asked through the phone. He paused for a moment as he listened to the response, before thanking the other boy and putting his phone away. His arm still wrapped around his roommate's shoulders, he led him down the stairs of the apartment.

"Don't worry, Sojin, he'll have you fixed up in no time," Hide stated as they walked. Sojin let out a quiet laugh, still quite traumatized from both the ghoul attack and his confession to Hide.

"It's not gonna be awkward between us now, is it?" he asked, glancing over at his crush. Hide's grin widened as he poked the younger boy playfully in the head.

"No way! Now I have even more incentive to take care of you!" he replied as they made it to the street outside of their apartment. Sojin wasn't sure whether that was a hint that Hide felt the same way or if he was reading too far into it. Regardless, he was happy to finally be safe under his roommate's comforting grip. Looking back at the ground, a slight smile spread across the younger boy's face as the duo headed towards Nishiki's home.


	5. Chapter 5

Sojin was surprised to feel his face flush as he walked towards Nishiki's home under Hide's comforting arm. The boy thought that he had lost enough blood that there wouldn't be any left in his body to make him blush. Even in his fatigued state, he couldn't hide the happiness of finally having the weight of his secret crush lifted off of his shoulders. He looked up from the pavement and glanced around. The street was devoid of people-most likely because it was well into the hours of dawn at this point. Although it was dark, the area was well lit with bright street lights guiding the way. Compared to his journey from before, this path seemed much safer, especially with Hide at his side.

"Ah, I still can't believe you went and did that," came Hide's voice. "I really wish you would tell me before you do irrational things..."

"I'm sorry, I guess I should've warned you. My parents would have had a heart attack if I had never come back," he replied, scratching his head, his previous anger finally gone. As he lowered his arm back to his side, a shadowy figure caught his eye.

"Yeah! Imagine how sad they would be..." Hide exclaimed, continuing to scold the younger boy. However, Sojin was no longer listening, his heart beat increasing slightly upon taking a closer look at the man across the street. Even though he hadn't been in the man's presence for very long, there was no way he could forget Mado's distinct appearance. The old man leaned against the side of a building, unmoving, yet his eyes followed the two boys as they walked past. Sojin felt a shiver run down his spine. Under the streetlight, the old man almost looked like a corpse, his eyes hollowed and white hair falling messily. The boy immediately turned his head away, not wanting to make eye contact, but unsure of what to do. The old man's assistant-Amon, was it?-was no where to be seen, inciting a sense of suspicion within the boy. He had no reason to be nervous, they had saved him after all, yet he couldn't shake that bad vibes he got from their presence.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?" Hide exclaimed, smacking the brown-haired boy lightly on the head. Sojin jumped in panic, looking at Hide with wide eyes, causing the older boy to give him a look of confusion. Should he tell Hide why he was anxious? The younger boy thought back on what had happened last time he hadn't informed Hide of his circumstances and decided to confess.

"Hide!" Sojin began in a hushed voice, slowing his walking pace. "Don't look over, but the man across the street...he's the one who saved me from the ghoul."

Hide's eyes widened for a moment, but he kept his calm. Without turning his head, he glanced over at the spot Sojin had signified out of the corner of his eye.

"He seems kinda old to be fighting ghouls...are you sure that's him?" Hide responded, letting out a slight chuckle. The younger boy elbowed him in the ribs, giving him a glare to let him know he was being serious.

"It's seriously him! I don't know why, but he gave me some serious bad vibes. There's just something off about him," Sojin whispered as the boys continued onwards. Hide shrugged.

"Well, we don't have to stop and say hi. Besides, we're almost at Nishiki senpai's apartment," Hide replied, squeezing Sojin's shoulder slightly. Sojin glanced over at the white haired man once more before letting out a sigh. He didn't seem to be doing anything wrong...but what kind of person simply stands outside at 3 A.M.? Regardless, the boys continued on in relative silence, Sojin's good mood overshadowed by his suspicions.

"We're here!" Hide exclaimed, pulling Sojin through the front door and into the elevator. The younger boy let out a sigh of relief as the elevator doors closed, happy that they had made it to their destination. Moments later, the elevator released them into a long hallway. Hide headed towards a door without hesitating, hinting that he had already been to this place many times. Sojin followed along behind, wondering if this senpai would really be able to do anything for his wound. After knocking, the door swung open a few moments later revealing a tall boy with hair similar to the color of Hide's. The boy's glasses gave him a rather menacing look and the dark circles under his eyes suggested that he hadn't slept for a while.

"Ah, Nagachika, come in," he stated, pulling the door open wider. Hide smiled and waltzed in to the apartment, beckoning for Sojin to follow. He then turned and pointed at the younger boy.

"This is my roommate, Sojin! Sojin this is Nishiki senpai," he stated, a happy smile spreading across his face. Sojin glanced around the apartment for a moment. It was rather cramped, with only a kitchen, bathroom and common room with the medical student's bed. A small lamp provided the only illumination for the whole apartment, making it a bit difficult to make out the details. He turned his attention back to the conversation as Hide made introductions.

"Ah, sorry to trouble you so late! Thank you for letting us come over," Sojin exclaimed, bowing deeply to Nishiki. The medical student let out a chuckle and waved his hand at the statement.

"It's not a problem. I have to stay up this late anyway...damn medical school. Speaking of which, Hide said you had a wound you needed me to look at?"

Sojin nodded, bringing up his arm and uncovering the gash. The older boy's eyes widened...almost excitedly. The younger boy felt unease take over him, but tried to shake it off. He was obviously paranoid because of the prior events. Nishiki was probably just shocked by how bad the wound was.

"Wow, that's a really bad gash," the medical student stated, confirming Sojin's thoughts. "Let me get to work on it quickly before it gets infected. Come over to the bathroom so I can clean it."

Sojin nodded and smiled, happy that the older boy was really willing to help him. He glanced over at Hide, who gave him a reassuring nod, before heading into the bathroom. He winced as the older boy cleaned out the wound, but his eyes widened as he saw Nishiki pull out a needle.

"I'm gonna have to sew it up...there's no way it can heal on it's own," the medical student said. Sojin winced, but didn't argue, aware that this had to be done. To his surprise, the procedure, although painful, passed by quite quickly. Sojin stared down at his newly patched up arm in shock before looking up at Nishiki.

"Wow, you really are a doctor! I think you should just graduate from school now!" he exclaimed with a smile. Nishiki let out a quiet laugh and shook his head.

"I've got a lot more to learn. We're lucky this was an easy procedure!"

Sojin opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. Nishiki tilted his head to the side, confusion spreading across his face as he got up and exited the bathroom.

"Who could that be...? It's ridiculously late," the medical student stated to himself. Sojin peeked around the corner of the bathroom door frame, watching Nishiki head to the door. Suddenly, the boy realized what was going on, his prior fears still fresh in his mind. He burst from the bathroom without hesitation and pulled Nishiki away from the door. He placed his finger on his lips, signaling for the other boys to stay quite, then beckoned for Nishiki and Hide to head to the rear room of the apartment, Nishiki's bedroom. Sojin ran to the front door, silently peeking through the peephole before pulling back in terror. He ran back to the bedroom and quietly closed and locked the door behind him as a louder knock came at the door. Panic overtook the younger boy as he turned to Hide.

"It's them! It's the old man! He thinks I'm a ghoul or something and was following us," Sojin exclaimed, a million thoughts running through his head. Hide shook his head in disbelief while Nishiki looked on with confusion. "Hide, please trust me! You told me to tell you these things, and now I'm telling you! Nishiki, is there another exit?"

The medical student pushed his glasses back up, before pointing to the window, still confused by what was going on. Sojin ran to the window and pulled it open, revealing a fire escape. He hadn't realized how many stories up they were and the height was nauseating. Still, he beckoned the other two over and forced them out of the window, signaling for them to run down. Suddenly, the sound of wood splintering filled the silent apartment as Mado seemingly broke down the front door. Sojin hopped out of the window and pulled it shut behind him, following after the duo. As he looked down at his friends, his heart dropped. A fourth figure stood on the fire escape a few stories below, staring up at the three boys. Hide and Nishiki had slowed their descent, also taking note of the newcomer. Judging by his size, it wasn't hard for Sojin to guess that it was Amon, Mado's right hand man. Breaking his silence, the brown-haired boy shouted for his friends to run back up.

"Hurry! Climb up as fast as you can! He's that old guy's assistant!" exclaimed the youngest boy, beginning to ascend the staircase. Hide and Nishiki obeyed without hesitation, but Amon also began climbing at a rapid pace. Sojin glanced upwards, shifting his plan.

"Get to the roof! Go faster!" he exclaimed. Just as Hide and Nishiki passed the medical student's apartment, the window shattered as Mado hopped out, a wicked smile on his face.

"You boys think you're faster than Amon?" he exclaimed, chuckling. "Ohhoho, how confident."

Sojin didn't look back, trusting in his friends to make it. To his surprise, he somehow managed to reach the roof. Pulling himself up onto the top of the building, he leaned over to see that his friends would make it. Amon was fast, but there had been enough of a distance between them. Sojin helped pull the other two boys onto the roof before running across the flat surface to the opposite side. Moments later, Amon and Mado emerged from the fire escape. Glancing around for another escape route, Sojin felt his hopes drop as he realized they were cornered.

"Hmmm, I do believe we have a ghoul among us," Mado stated, chuckling and tapping his briefcase.

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><p><em>Hohoho, sorry this took SO long. School got REAL. Anyway, thanks for reading! Please review as always!<em>


	6. Chapter 6

The skin on the boy's palm began to tear as Sojin clenched his fists tightly in panic, his thoughts racing. Glancing to his left and right, he could see that neither Nishiki nor Hide had a plan to get them out of this situation. Both boys looked bewildered over the events unfolding before them. If it had been 48 hours earlier, Sojin would have worn the same confused expression. So much had happened in the past day that the twenty year old felt that he had aged at least ten years. Still, even ten years of wisdom was not enough to help him come up with an escape plan. Looking from Mado to Amon, Sojin gritted his teeth, unsure of what to say.

"I...I'm not a ghoul! You're confused!" Sojin exclaimed, cringing at his lame statement, before taking a slight step forward and brushing his brown bangs out of his face. Hide immediately moved to his side, placing his arm in front of the younger boy to keep him from moving further. Sojin looked at his roommate in surprise and saw a glimmer of concern in the boy's eyes. It seemed Hide had finally decided that this was indeed the real deal.

"Sojin, stay behind me!" Hide exclaimed, pulling the younger boy behind his back and glaring at the two older men. "I have no idea what you two crazies are after, but this kid isn't a ghoul. If you're with the CCG, then do your job and find the real threats!"

Sojin tilted his head from behind Hide to get a view of their adversaries. The old man looked at his partner, a slightly confused expression gracing his face. Did he really not know that Sojin was human? Just as soon as the thought flitted through the boy's mind, the old man let out a loud laugh, suddenly transforming his briefcase into a huge blade. This was similar to what the man had used earlier to save Sojin. A kagune, was it? Amon nodded solemnly, then unleashed his kagune as well. The younger man's was a simple pole with what looked like a huge weight attached to the end. One well placed blow from that would be lights out for sure.

The youngest boy glanced over at Nishiki who had remained relatively quiet the whole time. Upon seeing the weapons the men wielded, the medical student's expression had shifted to one of worry. Had he also experienced this torment from the CCG? The boy's attention was brought back to his adversaries as the old man approached the trio slowly. Hide spread his arms wide and planted his feet on the ground, unwilling to let the men get to his roommate.

"Sorry boys, the ghoul must die," Mado said, slightly dragging out the last word as if he relished the current circumstance. Hide's body tensed as if he were about to jump at the man, but Sojin grabbed onto the back of his jacket, keeping him in place.

"Don't! Hide, please let me talk to them. I can talk it out. Please!" Sojin whispered from behind his roommate. The orange-haired boy shook his head, denying the request as the two men continued their approach. Taking a deep breath, Sojin jolted out from behind his roommate and closed the gap between himself and the kagune-wielding duo, stopping just short of Mado's weapon range.

"Please listen to me! If you refuse to believe me, I'll go with you! Or do whatever you want! Just don't hurt these two! None of us are ghouls, but those two are definitely innocent!"

Mado's eyebrows raised at the boy's sudden speech and he halted his stride. Internally, Sojin was a bit impressed that he had actually managed to surprise the crazy old man.

"Ah, naive child, you have a lot to learn," he responded, the corners of his mouth twisting into a smile. Mado raised the kagune high above his head, the blood red orb at the sword's center glinting in the faint light. The twenty-year-old let out a gasp, taking a step back as he realized the old man intended to kill. Just as Mado brought the sword down, Sojin felt Hide pull him into an embrace and whirl him around so that the older boy's back was now facing Mado. The sound of slicing flesh filled the air, along with a scream of pain and the mad cackling of Mado. Sojin glanced down at his own body, finding it completely unscathed. Rather than feel relief, a sense of terror overtook the boy as he gripped Hide's hand that was still wrapped around his torso. He pulled free and spun around, eyes wide, as he looked Hide over, expecting to see the boy mortally wounded. To his surprise, his roommate was completely fine, giving him the same concerned expression.

Both boys simultaneously registered the only option left, shifting their gaze to the third member of their trio. Nishiki kneeled on one knee, blood pouring from a deep gash in his side and dying the rooftop pavement red. Sojin shuttered at the sight, but didn't waste a moment, dashing over to the medical student. Nishiki had helped him out of the kindness of his heart, and now he was receiving the attacks meant for Sojin.

"Are you crazy?!" the youngest boy shouted, kneeling at Nishiki's side, unsure of what to do. "Why are you attacking him? He didn't do anything!"

Amon shook his head, beckoning for Sojin to move aside.

"We know you're not a ghoul. The ghoul we've been tracking is your friend here. If we hadn't followed you, he'd probably have devoured you by now. Step aside," the tall man stated, spinning his kagune nonchalantly. Sojin looked from the men back to Nishiki, who was shaking from the pain. What the hell were they talking about? If he was a ghoul, he would have transformed or defended himself by now. Hide joined Sojin, wrapping his arm around Nishiki's shoulder in an attempt to comfort the bleeding boy. Sojin stood up and moved towards the duo, placing himself between the two parties.

"Leave him-"

Before Sojin could finish his sentence, Amon brought his weapon up and swiftly clubbed the boy in the ribs. The man hadn't seemed to use much power, but the force still sent the boy hurtling across the rooftop, barely coming to a stop before the edge of the building.

"Sojin!" came Hide's voice. The youngest boy lifted his head, scratches and scrapes now covering the exposed parts of his body.

"I'm fine! Protect Nishiki!" Sojin exclaimed, pulling himself to his feet again before wincing in pain. His ribs felt bruised where the impact had occurred and part of the stitching on his arm had come undone. The youngest boy ran over to the two men as Hide rose to his feet in an attempt to defend the medical student. Just as Sojin reached the scene, Amon swung his weapon once more, sending Hide flying directly into his roommate. Both boys toppled to the ground, Sojin squeaking in pain as the older boy landed on top of him. Hide picked himself up immediately, not showing any signs of pain, but Sojin struggled to recover. There was no way they stood a chance against the men. Still, he managed to push himself up to a sitting position just in time to see Mado lift his sword above Nishiki. To his surprise, the medical student dodged the attack with stunning speed. Clutching his wound, the oldest boy's glasses glinted for a moment before revealing a pair of black and red eyes. A single, blue tentacle-like tail emerged from the boy, wrapping around his leg.

"He's...Nishiki senpai is..." Hide stated, his jaw dropped in disbelief. Sojin was just as shocked, unsure of what to do. His parents had always taught him that ghouls weren't necessarily bad, just different. He finally understood what they meant. Nishiki had helped him with no ill intention, and from what he had heard, Kaneki was also now a ghoul. Before Sojin could move to aid the ghoul, Hide had grabbed his arm and hauled him towards the fire escape.

"Hide! Wait! He still needs our help!" the younger boy exclaimed, trying to remove his roommate's grip from his forearm. Hide shook his head, increasing the strength of his grasp.

"We'll just get killed if we interfere at this point. Nishiki should be able to escape...although I'm not sure if that's a good thing," Hide stated, jumping down onto the fire exit and pulling the younger boy behind him. Sojin looked back at the scene, getting a glimpse of Nishiki jumping from the rooftop before his view became obscured.

"Not all ghouls are bad, you know!" Sojin exclaimed, turning his attention back to his roommate as the duo headed down the fire escape.

"Now's not the time to argue about this, Sojin. Let's just make it to the bottom," Hide stated, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Sojin narrowed his eyes, annoyance flaring up within himself as well. They continued their decent in silence, Mado and Amon seemingly unconcerned with following them now that they had their target. After a few minutes, the boys finally reached the ground, panting from the intense exercise. Sojin could feel his legs shaking beneath him as he realized just how fatigued he was. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept, not to mention his various injuries finally started to hurt. As Hide began leading the way home, the younger boy fell to his knees, his vision blurring from sleep deprivation and fatigue. The only thought that he could muster was worry about Nishiki.

"How could we just leave him?" Sojin asked, looking up at his roommate in pain. Hide kneeled and placed his hand on the brown-haired boy's head, moving his bangs back into place.

"He'll be fine. You're right that all ghouls aren't bad, but there's nothing we could have done to help," replied Hide's calm voice. "I'm sure he's escaped. If he's really friendly to humans, then he'll seek us out again. For now, just worry about yourself."

Hide looked Sojin up and down, shaking his head in concern. Cuts covered the boy's body from being tossed around and the hopeful glimmer that usually filled his eyes had all but disappeared. Hide turned his back to the younger boy and let out a sigh.

"Ah, this is so cliche," he stated, pointing to his back. "Get on. I can't let a crazy kid like you out of my sight."

Sojin, who normally would have refused out of pride, simply let out a quiet laugh and climbed on, aware that he couldn't make it home on his own two legs. In any other circumstance, he would have freaked out internally over a piggyback ride, yet all he could think about now was sleeping. Resting his head on Hide's shoulder, he anticipated finally being able to sleep for the first time in days. Unfortunately, he was well aware that nightmares would now plague his dreams.

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><p><em>Thanks as always! Pleaseeeee review. ^^<em>


	7. Chapter 7

The following month passed by as normal as normal could be. Sojin's wounded arm slowly healed, yet the mental trauma from the previous events remained staunchly in his subconscious. He could no longer walk down the street without nervously scanning every person he walked past for any signs of ghoul tendencies. While he wasn't necessarily fearful of ghouls, due to his experience with Nishiki, he was well aware that they could devour humans just as easily as they could save them. Speaking of Nishiki, the medical student was constantly on the younger boy's mind. Since the rooftop fight, Sojin had waited for any sign of his friend-or Mado and Amon, for that matter. Now that a month had passed, the boy's hopes were slowly dropping as he fell into his regular routine. He could tell that Hide was doing his best not to bring up the topic of ghouls or Nishiki, lest Sojin get any ideas of pursuing his friend. Still, Hide had been quite kind to Sojin over the past month, perhaps overly so. The younger boy didn't want pity. If anything, he wanted to know what his relationship with his roommate was, an answer Hide seemed unwilling to give. Sojin couldn't blame his friend, as he could tell Hide's mind was focused on finding Kaneki's whereabouts. No sign of the half-ghoul could be found after Sojin's visit to the hospital a month ago and this absence obviously put Hide on edge.

"A recent drop in ghoul attacks has left the city in a pleasant state of peace," stated the newswoman's voice from the television. Sojin glanced over at Hide, sitting on the floor next to him, and saw his roommate's emotions drop. The boys had been watching the news daily for any signs of Kaneki, yet the only news was talk of declining attacks.

"Despite the decline, there has still been one attack last night. The assailant is still believed to be hiding in the area, so caution is advised," continued the newscaster as Hide got up and headed to the kitchen. Sojin got up to follow him, but the footage playing on the television suddenly caught his eye. The younger boy fumbled for the remote and quickly rewinded to the spot that had caught his attention-Hide giving him a confused look from the kitchen. Sojin squinted, trying to make out a blurry figure in the corner of the screen before his face lit up.

"Hide! Hide! It's Kaneki!" Sojin exclaimed, pointing to the screen excitedly. The older boy dropped the cup of water he was filling up into the sink and ran over, almost bowling Sojin over. He followed Sojin's finger to the figure on the screen, his eyes widening as he instantaneously recognized his friend.

"Why's he wearing an eyepatch? Is he injured?" Hide asked, mostly to himself. He snatched the remote out of Sojin's hand and rewinded, listening intently to the newscaster. Sojin glared at being shunted to the side, but understood the importance of the situation and refrained from commenting.

"Kingsway Circuit! That's so close to here and the attack only took place last night. She said the assailant is still hanging around right?" Hide exclaimed, dropping the remote on the couch. He snatched up his backpack and dashed out the door without a word. Sojin's eyes narrowed into a glare as he hurried after his roommate, a hint of jealousy finally setting in. When any mention of Kaneki arose, Hide completely forgot about Sojin. It had always been that way, but now that Hide occasionally hinted his affection towards Sojin, the younger boy thought it would change a bit. Letting out a sigh, he put the thought out of his head and ran out into the brisk air of the street. The orange-haired boy had already reached the street corner and Sojin rushed to not lose sight of him. After a few minutes of jogging, Hide came to a stop in front of a strip of dilapidated buildings, Sojin arriving a few seconds later.

"You could wait for me you know..." Sojin stated, a hint of aggravation behind his words. Hide ignored the comment, further annoying the younger boy, and set to breaking down the front door of the first building. Sojin glanced at the setting sun, then turned back to Hide, keeping his cool.

"I don't think this is a good idea, Hide. It's sunset and this is the perfect setting for a ghoul attack. There's a reason something happened here last night," Sojin stated, scanning the surroundings for anything suspicious. The area was devoid of life, most likely because people knew to avoid it from the news report from earlier.

"It's fine, Sojin. We need to find Kaneki no matter what!" his roommate exclaimed, entering the building. The younger boy grabbed Hide's arm and tried to keep him from going further.

"We're not going to find him if we're dead!" Sojin exclaimed, trying to pull him out of the building and back to the street. Hide wrenched his arm from the grip, causing Sojin to stumble backwards out of the building.

"If you're scared, go home! I'm going to find him," Hide stated fierily, reentering the building. Sojin gritted his teeth, his temper finally bubbling over as the last rays of the sun disappeared behind the buildings.

"Fine, Hide! Since I care about Kaneki, I'll keep looking too," Sojin retorted, crossing his arms and glaring daggers. Hide's face lit up as he turned around to face his roommate, surprised by the amicable response.

"But I'll go look alone. I wouldn't want to hinder your search for your precious Kaneki," he continued, turning and walking to the adjacent apartment as Hide's face dropped at his comment.

"Jerk..." Sojin whispered without looking back and just loud enough for Hide to hear. Before entering the building he had chosen, Sojin found a metal pole leaning against the stone wall in the front yard. He picked it up and slung it over his shoulder like a baseball bat, preparing himself for the worst. After cautiously squeezing in through a missing chunk in the front door, he was surprised to find that the interior of the building was partially illuminated. The overhead lights had all been turned on for what seemed like a long time, as most of them had either burned out or were now flickering at the end of their life.

Sojin already knew this was a terrible idea and his conscious told him to get out of the building as soon as possible. Unfortunately, his annoyance towards Hide spurred him on, not wanting to go back and continue to argue with his roommate. As he continued further into the building, he could feel his heartrate increase. Every creak of the wooden floor or shutter of the lights caused him to flinch in fear, and he had yet to even fully cover the first floor. As he entered the kitchen, he leaned against the crumbling countertop and grasped the metal pole tightly, shuddering.

"This is stupid!" Sojin exclaimed to himself, nodding as if to confirm it to himself. "I'm going back to Hide...a grudge isn't worth dying over. I shouldn't push my luck after I've made it this far."

The boy pushed himself off of the counter and noticed a back door with a small window covered by a shade, which led out of the kitchen to the backyard. Not wanting to go all the way back through the apartment to the front door, the back door seemed like the less dangerous choice. Still, Sojin could hardly trust this dark setting after everything he had been through. Cautiously, he lifted the shade to scan the backyard for anything suspicious. He squinted for a moment, unsure as to what he was exactly looking at. As his vision came into focus, his eyes widened as he found himself face to face with a pair of red and black eyes with a glowing grin beneath. Both Sojin and the ghoul stood unmoving for a moment with eyes locked, the boy paralyzed by fear and the ghoul seemingly enjoying it. A single breathe exited the boy's mouth before he let out a terrified scream and jumped back from the window, the ghoul's arm smashing through it and reaching for his throat a moment later.

Sojin fell to the ground, narrowly dodging the attack as the broken glass shards showered down upon him. Regretting his decision to search alone, he scooted backwards in a panic before pulling himself to his feet. Making a break for it, he dashed towards the front door as the ghoul easily smashed through the rotting wood of the back door. An orange tentacle shot forwards towards the fleeing boy, but he managed to strike it with the metal pole he had brought along, spurred on by adrenalin. The tentacle quickly wrapped around the pole, unfazed, and wrenched it from the boy's hand, pulling it back to its owner in the shadows. Just before Sojin reached the front door, the metal pole whizzed past his ear with such force that it splintered the wooden wall in front of him and stuck there. Sojin let out a scream of terror and bowled through the wooden front door, breaking it in two, and toppling face first onto the pavement outside. Holding his face in his hand, he managed to pick himself up and run to the building where Hide had been, the smiling ghoul walking after him nonchalantly.

"Hide!" Sojin screamed from the building's front door. As if by magic, his roommate appeared in the building's hallway with a look of terror on his face, dashing straight for him. Wordlessly, the older boy grabbed Sojin's arm and pulled him away from the building and to the street. Looking back over his shoulder, Sojin could see another ghoul emerge from Hide's building, joining the one that had been chasing him. He shuddered as he saw that the wide grin upon the first ghoul's face had yet to fade.

"What do we do?! We can't outrun them!" Sojin exclaimed, looking around for some way to escape. The ghouls seemed to be in no rush, slowly strolling towards them and shrinking the gap between the two parties. The ghoul that had followed Hide wore a strange mask with a zipper on the front across what looked like a huge mouth. One eye remained concealed, but the other shifted back and forth between Hide and Sojin.

"Get behind me. I should have listened to you...now you'll have to pay for my mistake. But I'll do my best to defend you!" Hide exclaimed, grabbing Sojin and pulling him behind his back. Sojin shook his head defiantly, aware that fighting them wouldn't be possible for two humans. Grabbing Hide's hand, he pulled the older boy behind him and made a break for the populated street nearby. Upon seeing this, the smiling ghoul began to move faster, quickly closing the gap and shooting a sword like tentacle towards the pair. Hide pushed Sojin out of the tentacle's path, his own arm getting gashed in the process. The older boy let out a squeak of pain before the tentacle swung back around and bashed him into the side of a nearby building. Sojin ran to where Hide lay, standing between him and the ghoul.

"Hide, are you okay?" Sojin asked, not breaking eye contact with the ghouls. The one-eyed ghoul suddenly froze as if he had been struck by a bullet, his gaze settling on the downed boy. Ignoring its partner, the smiling ghoul seemed to have had enough playing around as its tentacle inched towards the boys, the tip sharpening into a spear. Sojin grimaced as the limb shot forward, aiming for his heart, but refused to leave Hide. Sojin could anticipate the pain in his mind, yet his physical form felt no harm as the tentacle fell limply to the floor with a sickening, squelching sound. Sojin's wide-eyed gaze followed the tentacle to its owner to find that the smiling ghoul's appendage had been severed by its own ally.

"Take Hide and go!" came the voice of the one-eyed ghoul as it made eye contact with Sojin.

Squinting, the boy let out a gasp as he looked more closely at the one-eyed ghoul.

"K-Kaneki?" he asked under his breath. There was no time to figure it out now. He bent down and helped Hide to his feet, placing the older boy's arm around his shoulder and moving away from the ghouls as quickly as possible. Hide looked at him, concerned.

"Did you say Kaneki?" he asked, trying to look back at the ghouls. Sojin shook his head, not wanting to raise his roommate's hopes.

"I'm not sure...but I'm guessing we'll find out."

* * *

><p><em>Ah, finally Kaneki! Heh, please review and critique! ^^<em>


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